Smile: Free dental exams are available for students

NORTH CANAAN — Seven-year-old Tori Merrill dutifully plopped into a dental exam chair in the school nurse’s office. The daughter of two North Canaan Elementary School teachers, she is growing up with health-conscious parents and a good dental plan.

She is also a perfect candidate for a free dental clinic — sealants and fluoride — for first- through fifth-graders at the school.

"Every child should be seen, no matter what their situation," said Pam Lindau, a dental hygienist with Booker Memorial Children’s Dental Clinic in Torrington. "Good dental health is not just about checkups, but daily care. Anyone other than mom and dad telling them what to do is always good to reinforce that. And they can always benefit from a fluoride treatment."

"Did you floss today?" Lindau asked.

"No, I forgot," an honest Tori answered, adding that she remembers to almost every day.

The clinic is being offered in schools across Region One, and was made possible through a grant from the Foundation for Community Health.

The Sharon-based foundation was established in 2003 and currently has a strong focus on oral health. Two years ago, it commissioned a report from the Department of Oral and Health Policy and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

Using information from a survey of third-grade students in the foundation’s coverage area in Connecticut and New York, foundation executives made the determination that a need definitely exists here. And it’s a greater need than most would have predicted.

Even more telling than the survey results is the response at the schools, where parents of all children were urged to take advantage of at least an oral hygiene assessment and exam.

Only about half of NCES’s grade-eligible students were signed up. It was the same at a clinic at Sharon Center School. The dental group will head for Kent Center School next week; about 30 children are signed up. In Cornwall, an upcoming clinic has only 11 participants signed up so far.

Of the children Lindau and her assistant, Vicki Demers, have seen, she estimates three quarters of them need to see a dentist for cavities or other concerns.

There are many reasons Lindau can think of for parents to be reluctant about free clinics. They may feel it is redundant with treatment by their own dentist, or don’t want the school to know their child is not getting adequate dental care, she said. Or maybe it’s simply a matter of parents who are not paying attention.

"I spoke with [NCES school nurse] Ellie Connell about the students and it was her assessment that the kids who really needed to be seen and get the sealants weren’t signed up," Lindau said. "The majority of students I’ve seen here need sealants. I’ve even seen kids at risk for developing an abscess."

Not every parent is aware of sealants, a quick and painless procedure to prevent the most common cavities. Not every dentist offers them, and not all insurance plans cover the cost. The survey showed of the 79 percent of students who participated in the survey, 61 percent do not have sealed teeth.

Parents of every student seen at the school clinics receive a letter letting them know their child was examined, with recommendations about the need for further treatment.

In the area served by the foundation, only Goshen had already secured grant funding for a dental program. A hygienist comes to the school annually for exams and cleanings.

"I remember the dental hygienist coming every year when I was in school," Lindau said. "Very few schools do that anymore, and it’s a shame because they can get grants and do it at no cost to the school."

Grant goals are as much about awareness of need and resources as treatment. Families without dental insurance need to know that free coverage is available through the state’s HUSKY program. The number of area dentists that participate in the program also needs to increase.

"The program doesn’t help when parents won’t or can’t afford to travel to take their children to the dentist," Lindau said.